1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle cowl cover. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle cowl cover including at least one yielding portion having elasticity greater than that of the main body of the cowl cover to increase yielding characteristics of the vehicle cowl cover area.
2. Background Information
Vehicle designers are routinely seeking new ways to increase the safety of vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, SUVs, vans and so on. For example, vehicle designers consider many different scenarios that involve contact of the vehicle with objects (e.g., structures, other vehicles, pedestrians, foreign objects, etc.) while the vehicle is in motion. Naturally, vehicle designers continuously strive to design vehicles that can mitigate the intensity of forces applied to objects when such contact occurs.
One area of interest is the vehicle hood and cowl area, because a forward motion impact with an object typically results in contact between the object and this area of the vehicle. As understood in the automotive art, vehicle hoods are typically formed from stamped metal and tend to be fairly rigid components. Therefore, there may be practical limitations to the manner in which hood configurations can be changed to reduce the force that the hood may exert on an object during a collision.
In addition, vehicles are designed to withstand a wide variety of weather and environmental conditions. Naturally, such vehicles are constructed to prevent or at least minimize the amount of water and debris that can accumulate on or within a vehicle. For example, rain water can collect and add weight to a vehicle, seep into various areas of the vehicle, or deposit unsightly residue when such water evaporates. Accordingly, rain water may need to be diverted so that the water does not collect within the body structure of the vehicle.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle cowl cover. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.